The present disclosure relates in general to packaging for products, and more particularly to bags and pouches, such as stand-up pouches. The disclosure is especially concerned with structures and techniques for maintaining a bag or pouch in a wide-open configuration to facilitate a user's access to the contents held therein.
Flexible materials, such as polymers and flexible films, are often used to construct packages for products, such as bags and pouches. Such packages can be used to hold a variety of items, such as snack food including trail mix, chips, nuts, fruit pieces, and other foods. In some cases, as in the snack food example, the type of product contained in the package is meant for consumption by the user one piece or portion at a time. For example, the consumer may reach into the package to withdraw a portion of the snack food, put them in his or her mouth, and then reach into the package again to obtain another portion for consumption. This pattern repeats until the consumer is full and/or does not want to eat any more of the package contents.
In another example, such as when the package is a large “family” or “party size” package, it is common for a consumer to open the package containing the snack food and share the food with others. In this case, one person may reach into the package, withdraw one or more items for consumption, then pass the package on to the next person who may then do the same.